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Our feeder - before the fall
I am not a real birdwatcher, let alone "birder," bird expert or ornithologist. But I am more aware of and involved with birds now than ever before. Not "birds in general," but "our birds," the ones that live around our house.
I got to thinking about that this week as I repaired and re-hung the bird feeder that lives on the tree in front of our big kitchen window. We had some strong winds this week, but that is not what did in the feeder. It was the failure of the squirrel shield that hangs above the feeder. It was well designed for warding off squirrels (more on that in a moment), and well designed for easy assembly, but not well designed for staying assembled. So it came apart, the feeder crashed to the ground and the tube that holds the seeds cracked open.
As I glued everything back together (whatever else may happen, the squirrel shield will never come apart that way again!), I began to think about how it came to pass that I was patching up a bird feeder and feeling some small but genuine sense of urgency as I did so. As I fiddled with the feeder, I caught myself feeling responsible to get it back out there as soon as possible, so the birds would be okay. So the birds would be okay? I had to laugh. The birds will survive just fine without my feeder. But feeding them matters to me.
It was not always so. In fact, most of the time that we have lived in this house, I have been quite content to let the birds fend for themselves. It's not that I didn't appreciate them. Especially in the spring and summer, I have always enjoyed waking up to their singing in the early morning. But I was content to enjoy them on the cheap, as it were, treating them with a kind of benign neglect.
Things began to change a couple of Christmases ago. That's when our wonderful in-laws, Terry and Denise, gave us the bird feeder. Given my well-established policy of benign neglect, I was a little slow to get it hung. Part of that was simply due to the weather. After all, who hangs a bird feeder outside their window in the winter? Are the birds even around in the winter? I didn't know, then. I do, now.
Before I could hang the feeder, I needed to fill it. Did you know that grocery stores and discount stores and home improvement stores all have birdseed sections? Or that simply finding those sections is not enough, since you have to make a decision about what kind of birdseed to buy? Oh my.
The discoveries continued as I learned that our local ecosystem did not much care about my purpose in hanging the bird feeder in the tree. Others of God's dear creatures were quite capable of emptying the entire feeder in a single day. Surprised by my naivete--and shocked by the likely economic consequences of a laissez faire approach--I launched the anti-squirrel campaign. Without making a full confession, I will simply admit that the campaign went through several phases (with their corresponding defeats). At more than one point, I was tempted to acts of violence. (I'm sure the neighbors are glad the anti-squirrel campaign never escalated to the use of violence, since my deteriorating visual acuity and inexperience with small arms would undoubtedly have led to collateral damage!) Even now, I cannot confidently report victory. But the current phase--use of a large, moveable shield above the feeder--seems to be working. Except when it comes apart.
As I repaired, refilled and re-hung shield and feeder, I was struck by how my life has been transformed by this gift. I now spend money, time and energy in ways I never would have before. I also now pay attention to and take delight in things I never would have noticed before. (I am still no ornithologist, but I know there are over a dozen different species of birds visiting our feeder on a regular basis. I now know where a bunch of them nest when they're not at the feeder. Sometimes I even find myself paying attention to birds that are not "ours.")
I was surprised to realize our bird feeder and I are a living parable or two. Just as the gift of the bird feeder has produced many unexpected (by me) changes in my life, the gifts God gives us are meant to transform our lives. God freely bestows gifts, talents and opportunities on us. As we receive them--and more, as we make use of them--one thing leads to another... and another... and another. Whether quickly or gradually, dramatically or imperceptibly, exercising the gifts God gives us brings about change in our lives.
I was also struck by the way a simple change in behavior has led to a change of heart. Hanging the feeder led to tending it. Tending the feeder became attending to the birds. Attending to the birds became taking delight in them and caring about them. It is a big jump from caring about birds to loving people, but the same principle applies: if we begin to serve people, we will wind up loving them. Valuing and emotional engagement will follow behavior, just as much as the other way around. Responding to Jesus' call to love others is best undertaken by getting about the business of serving them. Our hearts will follow.
Today the feeder is back in business. The birds are happy, and so am I. And I am looking forward to the opportunities 2010 holds for serving the people I have already grown to love--and those I will grow to love in the future. May the Lord also grant you joy in serving and a deepening love for those whom you serve this year!
Blessings,
Stan
I got to thinking about that this week as I repaired and re-hung the bird feeder that lives on the tree in front of our big kitchen window. We had some strong winds this week, but that is not what did in the feeder. It was the failure of the squirrel shield that hangs above the feeder. It was well designed for warding off squirrels (more on that in a moment), and well designed for easy assembly, but not well designed for staying assembled. So it came apart, the feeder crashed to the ground and the tube that holds the seeds cracked open.
As I glued everything back together (whatever else may happen, the squirrel shield will never come apart that way again!), I began to think about how it came to pass that I was patching up a bird feeder and feeling some small but genuine sense of urgency as I did so. As I fiddled with the feeder, I caught myself feeling responsible to get it back out there as soon as possible, so the birds would be okay. So the birds would be okay? I had to laugh. The birds will survive just fine without my feeder. But feeding them matters to me.
It was not always so. In fact, most of the time that we have lived in this house, I have been quite content to let the birds fend for themselves. It's not that I didn't appreciate them. Especially in the spring and summer, I have always enjoyed waking up to their singing in the early morning. But I was content to enjoy them on the cheap, as it were, treating them with a kind of benign neglect.
Things began to change a couple of Christmases ago. That's when our wonderful in-laws, Terry and Denise, gave us the bird feeder. Given my well-established policy of benign neglect, I was a little slow to get it hung. Part of that was simply due to the weather. After all, who hangs a bird feeder outside their window in the winter? Are the birds even around in the winter? I didn't know, then. I do, now.
Before I could hang the feeder, I needed to fill it. Did you know that grocery stores and discount stores and home improvement stores all have birdseed sections? Or that simply finding those sections is not enough, since you have to make a decision about what kind of birdseed to buy? Oh my.
The discoveries continued as I learned that our local ecosystem did not much care about my purpose in hanging the bird feeder in the tree. Others of God's dear creatures were quite capable of emptying the entire feeder in a single day. Surprised by my naivete--and shocked by the likely economic consequences of a laissez faire approach--I launched the anti-squirrel campaign. Without making a full confession, I will simply admit that the campaign went through several phases (with their corresponding defeats). At more than one point, I was tempted to acts of violence. (I'm sure the neighbors are glad the anti-squirrel campaign never escalated to the use of violence, since my deteriorating visual acuity and inexperience with small arms would undoubtedly have led to collateral damage!) Even now, I cannot confidently report victory. But the current phase--use of a large, moveable shield above the feeder--seems to be working. Except when it comes apart.
As I repaired, refilled and re-hung shield and feeder, I was struck by how my life has been transformed by this gift. I now spend money, time and energy in ways I never would have before. I also now pay attention to and take delight in things I never would have noticed before. (I am still no ornithologist, but I know there are over a dozen different species of birds visiting our feeder on a regular basis. I now know where a bunch of them nest when they're not at the feeder. Sometimes I even find myself paying attention to birds that are not "ours.")
I was surprised to realize our bird feeder and I are a living parable or two. Just as the gift of the bird feeder has produced many unexpected (by me) changes in my life, the gifts God gives us are meant to transform our lives. God freely bestows gifts, talents and opportunities on us. As we receive them--and more, as we make use of them--one thing leads to another... and another... and another. Whether quickly or gradually, dramatically or imperceptibly, exercising the gifts God gives us brings about change in our lives.
I was also struck by the way a simple change in behavior has led to a change of heart. Hanging the feeder led to tending it. Tending the feeder became attending to the birds. Attending to the birds became taking delight in them and caring about them. It is a big jump from caring about birds to loving people, but the same principle applies: if we begin to serve people, we will wind up loving them. Valuing and emotional engagement will follow behavior, just as much as the other way around. Responding to Jesus' call to love others is best undertaken by getting about the business of serving them. Our hearts will follow.
Today the feeder is back in business. The birds are happy, and so am I. And I am looking forward to the opportunities 2010 holds for serving the people I have already grown to love--and those I will grow to love in the future. May the Lord also grant you joy in serving and a deepening love for those whom you serve this year!
Blessings,
Stan